SOA gains control of China's oceanic satellite

Control of China's oceanic surveying satellite Haiyang-2 was handed over Friday to the State Oceanic Administration (SOA), by its manufacturer and launcher China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. The environmental satellite was launched into the orbit in mid-August last year, and since then, it has passed all tests on all the equipment aboard and functioned in accordance with the design, said Jiang Xingwei, director of China's National Satellite Ocean Application Service. Haiyang-2 is expected to play an important role in monitoring the oceanic environment, oceanographic research and resources development, the protection of China's maritime rights, and other ocean-related studies, said Jiang. Jiang said the satellite can effectively monitor extreme weather conditions such as storms, typhoons and tsunamis, thus improving the early-warning system for marine disasters. In addition, the data Haiyang-2 acquires will be helpful for observing changes in the sea level, globally, and polar ice caps, and supporting studies of the global climate change, he said. Haiyang-2 will work in collaboration with Haiyang-1, the first Chinese oceanic surveying satellite already in orbit, according to the official. "This will greatly improve the surveying and monitoring capacities of China's earth observation satellites, and end the monopoly of Western countries in the collection of remote sensing data involving the dynamic environment of oceans," Jiang said.